Time to keep quiet

I don’t know if I’ll be brave enough to publish this post when I finish it.

It seems it could be the wrong time. It is not about recent events in Paris. It is not about photography. It is not about something seasonal…

And it’s possible some will think less of me for sharing what I think.

I quite fancy that chance.

I updated you in earlier posts about a book I read that influenced my thinking and prompted me to DIY. I still find my ideas evolving, changing…

I’ve continued, however, with some of the book exercises… And was surprised -when reading them weeks later- that I hadn’t worried about writing blog posts or doing some promotion for my photography.

Strange.

I used to care more about writing regularly. I used to follow advice from business coaches, from marketing experts, social media gurus…

But I stopped following most of them. They started to feel repetitive after a while. Mechanical. Their messages didn’t click with me the same way any more.

What should I do instead? Should I stop trying different things for the fear they hadn’t worked? Should I quit my photography business?

Maybe.

Or maybe I could keep quiet for a while. I could stop trying so hard to reach the same people. Stop spending my time and energies on things that no longer felt right; keeping up with the Joneses; posting on social media…

Maybe it’s time to try less, to listen more.

Time to enjoy the process of finding my voice. My style. My people. We all have some people who click with us. It’s just a matter of keeping the faith. Not going with who speaks louder.

Time to keep quiet, enjoy the silence and think without distractions.

It’s tempting to jump in the band wagon of what other successful people do. It’s unlikely, though, that copying someone’s style or strategies will lead to meaningful success for me.

In a way, when things don’t go according to plan it is a blessing: It gives me the option of starting again from scratch, with a view to do only what feels congruent with my ideas. The option to let go of the worries. To follow my own path.

And, of course, the option to enjoy the journey. (Currently taking me through the artistic path.)